-Caveat Lector- Rep. Traficant Charged With Bribery http://disc.server.com/discussion.cgi?id=149495&article=1271 By M.R. KROPKO .c The Associated Press CLEVELAND (AP) - A federal grand jury on Friday indicted Rep. James A. Traficant Jr. on charges of bribery, racketeering and other counts. The 10-count, 41-page indictment alleges that Traficant accepted ``things of value'' for political influence while serving as a congressman representing the Youngstown area in northeastern Ohio. The conservative Democrat had long predicted that he would be indicted. The U.S. Justice Department has been probing corruption in eastern Ohio's Mahoning Valley for several years. Since the first indictments in December 1997, more than 70 people have been convicted, including a judge, a prosecutor, a sheriff and a Traficant aide, Charles O'Nesti, who has since died. Traficant, who turns 60 next week, was first elected to Congress in 1984. Despite the expected indictment, he won re-election to a ninth term in November by winning 50 percent of the vote in a three-way race. The government's probe is believed to have examined whether Traficant broke tax laws or House rules by accepting free use of a Chevrolet Corvette and the gift of an Avanti luxury car, as well as the price Traficant paid for construction of a pole barn on a farm that he once owned and where he still keeps horses. Traficant has said he is prepared to defend himself in court, although he is not a lawyer. He did the same thing in 1983 when he was acquitted of accepting mob bribes while Mahoning County sheriff. He lost a U.S. Tax Court case in 1987 stemming from the same issues. Since announcing he was a probe target, Traficant has been on a personal crusade against the U.S. Justice Department. An angry Traficant took to the House floor in March 2000 and vowed to ``fight like a junkyard dog'' against any federal charge him. Anticipating the announcement Friday, Traficant told reporters Friday morning near Youngstown that ``I'm as frightened as anyone can be. I'm going to say this to the U.S. attorneys. You'd best defeat me, because if I beat you, you'll be working in Mingo Junction.'' That is a small town in eastern Ohio. Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Morford, who has been the lead prosecutor in the Youngstown-area corruption cases, would not comment on the indictment. House ethics rules bar members or ``anyone with whom the member has a professional or legal relationship'' from benefiting directly from money representatives use to pay expenses. Some subpoenaed rent records reportedly concerned Traficant's district office, which is in a building owned by Kimberly Sinclair. Her husband, attorney R. Allen Sinclair, was hired onto Traficant's staff the same month his wife bought the building. He made repeated corruption accusations against the FBI, former U.S. Attorney Janet Reno and federal prosecutors in Ohio. He also introduced legislation to establish an independent federal agency to investigate the Justice Department. ``FBI agents in the northern district of Ohio have been on the payroll of the mob,'' Traficant said on the House floor in June. ``They have been bankrolled by the mob.'' Traficant also has claimed that an FBI informant, in writing, has said the FBI asked him to commit murder. The congressman has long been a popular figure in the blue-collar area he represents. Traficant, a former University of Pittsburgh quarterback, seems to thrive on controversy and unabashedly promotes Youngstown, a city known for being a battleground for rival Cleveland and Pittsburgh mob families. The town also has struggled for decades to recover from the sudden closing of old steel mills - long the underpinning of the area's economy - in the late 1970s. Traficant's unruly gray hair and affinity for polyester or plaid clothing have made one of the most recognizable figures on Capitol Hill. When speaking on the House floor, he usually at some point invokes ``Beam me up!'' - a line borrowed from TV's ``Star Trek'' - to show his disgust at something in government he finds particularly outrageous. The tax code is a frequent target. AP-NY-05-04-01 1347EDT ======================================================================= 1 Congressman Traficant -- 2001 One Minute Speeches - [EMAIL PROTECTED] Beam me up! 2001 One Minute Speeches Some of the above files are in Adobe .pdf format and require Adobe Acrobat Reader to view. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader, please click here for a FREE downloadable version. http://www.house.gov/traficant/speech.htm 2 U.S. Representative James A. Traficant, Jr. - [EMAIL PROTECTED] Official web site of Representative James A Traficant, Jr. (D - OH). http://www.house.gov/traficant/ 3 In 1999, U. S. Representative Jim Traficant had one of the six worst environmental voting records among Democrats in Congress. Voters can clean up by. In 1999, U. S. Representative Jim Traficant had one of the six worst environmental voting records among Democrats in Congress. Voters can clean up northeastern Ohio by cleaning Jim Traficant out of Congress. - [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.dirtydozen2000.org/jim-trafficant_front.htm 4 James Traficant's Treason Allegations! - [EMAIL PROTECTED] Ohio Democratic congressman James Traficant accused Attorney General Janet Reno of treason Monday night, saying he has evidence that she was blackmailed not to appoint an independent counsel to investigate the Clinton-Gore administration on Chinagate charges http://www.armadillonews.com/traficant.html 5 EXCERPTS OF AN INTERVIEW WITH OHIO DEMOCRAT JAMES TRAFICANT APPEARING ON FOX NEWS CHANNEL TRAFICANT: I have done some cursory investigation and will follow up further myself on a limited budget. What I received was that Janet Reno was first appointed to Dade County state attorney, they call them state attorneys there, as a favor and a thank-you to the mob. Number two, she's a lesbian. And I really don't care about anybody's sexual preference - [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.citizensunited.org/excerpts_of_an_interview_with_oh.htm 6 Congressman Traficant | TWA Flight 800 Report REPORT OF CONGRESSMAN JAMES A. TRAFICANT, JR. TO THE TRANSPORTATION & INFRASTRUCTURE SUBCOMMITTEE ON AVIATION ON THE TWA FLIGHT 800 INVESTIGATION JULY 15, 1998 - [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.house.gov/traficant/twaflight800report.htm 7 Jim Traficant One Minute Speach - Sept 15th James Traficant's (D-Ohio) one-minute speech before House on September 15th. James Traficant (D-Ohio) Home Page E-mail: (Rep. Jim Traficant D-OH) AN AMERICA WITH TWO LEGAL STANDARDS IS AN AMERICA WITH NO LEGAL STANDARDS September 15, 1998 Mr. Speaker, if Joe Q. Citizen lied in a civil trial, he would be sued for every penny. If Joe Q. Citizen lied to a Grand Jury, he would go to jail. Lying is perjury. Perjury is a crime. Now, having said that, what is going on here, Mr. Speaker? Does America now have two legal standards, one for you, one for me; one for he, one for she; one for generals, one - [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.w3f.com/patriots/sept15th.html 8 FPS - About Jim Traficant - [EMAIL PROTECTED] >From 1971 to 1981, Mr. Traficant served as the director of the Mahoning County (Ohio) Drug Program. As director he established a Parent Awareness Group in Ohio to educate families about substance abuse. In 1980, Mr. Traficant was elected Sheriff of Mahoning County. In addition to aggressive drug enforcement programs, Traficant greatly expanded the number of community crime watch programs in Mahoning and neighboring Trumbull County. Sheriff Traficant made national headlines by refusing to enact foreclosure orders on the homes of several unemployed workers. He openly defied a court order and http://www.uscfr.com/ajt.htm 9 NewsNet5 - Traficant Voted Worst-Dressed Congressman Traficant's wisp of silver hair, loosened tie and collection of $25 suits has won him the "Fashion Victim" distinction from Washingtonian magazine - [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.newsnet5.com/news/stories/news-980702-205004.html 10 Rep. Traficant - [EMAIL PROTECTED] Rep. James Traficant- Mr. Speaker, the President said if China wants a ceremony in Tiananmen Square, so be it; it is not my place to make demands on Communist China http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/square.html Rep. Traficant - [EMAIL PROTECTED] - Contact: http://www.house.gov/traficant/contact.htm The 545 People Responsible For All of America's Woes http://www.apfn.org/apfn/woes.htm <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! 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